Laurens County, South Carolina
Laurens County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 66,537. Its county seat is Laurens. Laurens County is included in the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History This part of upstate South Carolina was originally part of the Cherokee Nation. Laurens County was formed first as a "district" in 1785 from a division of the "Ninety-Six District". It was named after Henry Laurens, the third president of the Continental Congress. First Settlers The first permanent settler to upper Carolina is believe to be John Duncan of Aberdeen, Scotland who settled in 1753 at Duncan Creek (near Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery). He returned with his family from Pennsylvania soon afterwards. He brought his own family and a pair of fine stud horses to pull the first wagon to roll over soil between the Broad and Saluda rivers. Two of the settlers accompanying him were Charles and David Little. "A Laurens County Sketchbook" by Julian Stevenson Bolick (FHL book 975.731 pg 3-4 American Revolutionary War One of nine modern counties of the Colonial Ninety-Six District, Laurens County hosted more "official" (i.e. officially recognized and contemporaneously documented by competent governments) battles than did half of the original colonies. The Battle of Musgrove Mill was the first time during the American Revolution that regular soldiers of Great Britain were defeated in battle by militia. Those battles in modern Laurens County were: #Fort Lindley/Lindler #Widow Kellet's Block House #Musgrove's Mill #Farrow's Station #Duncan Creek Meeting House #Indian Creek #Hammond's Store #Fort Williams (not to be confused with William'son''s fort some 25 miles south in Greenwood County) #Cedar Springs (begun in Cross Anchor SC, then an old-fashioned "Hoss Chase" of fifty eight miles through four counties and ended in NC after about 30 hours!) #Mud Lick Creek # Hayes' Station: (Joe Goldsmith, State Historian, SC Soc., Sons of the American Revolution) Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. Adjacent counties *Spartanburg County - north *Union County - northeast *Newberry County - southeast *Greenwood County - south *Abbeville County - southwest *Anderson County - west *Greenville County - northwest Major highways * Interstate 26 * Interstate 385 * U.S. Route 25 * U.S. Route 76 * U.S. Route 221 * South Carolina Highway 72 * South Carolina Highway 418 National protected area *Sumter National Forest (part) Demographics |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 }} * Laurens County, South Carolina/1790 US Census In 1790 the first government census taken after the adoption of the Constitution gave Laruens District 1,395 heads of families and a total population of 9,337 including Negro freedmen and slaves. Laurens District at that time had a larger population than any other upstate district except for Newberry (just barely). 2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 69,567 people, 26,290 households, and 18,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 97 people per square mile (38/km²). There were 30,239 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.57% White, 26.23% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 1.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 26,290 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.10% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,933, and the median income for a family was $39,739. Males had a median income of $30,402 versus $21,684 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,761. About 11.60% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 13.50% of those age 65 or over. As of May 2012, the county unemployment rate was 9.5%.http://www.eascinc.com/unemployment_rate.html 2010 census As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 66,537 people, 25,525 households, and 17,707 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 30,709 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 70.4% white, 25.4% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.3% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 11.8% were American, 9.8% were Irish, 9.6% were German, and 8.8% were English. Of the 25,525 households, 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 39.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $37,529 and the median income for a family was $45,769. Males had a median income of $36,807 versus $26,799 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,757. About 14.1% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over. Education There are three public school districts in the county. Laurens County District 55 covers what is generally the northeastern half of the county while District 56 covers the southwestern half. The Ware Shoals area is covered by the multi-county Greenwood County District 51. There are two public high schools in the county: Laurens (in Dist. 55) and Clinton (in Dist. 56.) Public K-12 education includes Hickory Tavern Elementary, Ford Elementary, Gray Court-Owings, E.B. Morse, Hickory Tavern Middle, Laurens Middle, and Sanders Middle. Private K-12 education includes Laurens Academy. Presbyterian College, located in Clinton, is a four-year liberal-arts school founded in 1880. Communities Cities * Clinton * Fountain Inn (mostly in Greenville County) * Laurens (county seat) Towns * Cross Hill * Gray Court * Hickory Tavern * Ware Shoals (mostly in Greenwood, partly in Abbeville Counties) * Waterloo Census-designated places * Joanna * Mountville * Princeton * Wattsville Unincorporated communities * Barksdale * Hickory Tavern * Kinards (partly in Newberry County) * Madden * Owings Notable people *James Adair, (c.1709–c.1783), historian, resided in Laurens County in later life. *Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, worked as a tailor in Laurens during the 1820s. *William Y. Thompson (born 1922), historian, resided in Clinton from 1950-1955. *William Dunlap Simpson, 78th Governor of South Carolina and Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court from 1880-1890. *Pat Cannon, United States Representative from Florida; raised in Laurens County. See also * National Register of Historic Places listings in Laurens County, South Carolina * Tryon County, North Carolina References External links * * * Laurens County website Portal style website, Government, Business, Library, Recreation and more * Laurens County Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce * ACCESS 15, Laurens County Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channel * Laurens County, South Carolina DNA Project * Selected Historical Information about Laurens County * City-Data.com Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Laurens County Category:Laurens County, South Carolina Category:Greenville, South Carolina metropolitan area Category:1785 establishments in South Carolina Category:Settlements established in 1785